United States Drug Enforcement Administration

ROCHESTER, NY –- U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan announced today that Soroush Hamedi,  27, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 40 grams or more of fentanyl, before Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford. The charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years imprisonment and a maximum sentence of 40 years imprisonment and a $5,000,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett A. Harvey, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant was part of a group of individuals who ran a drug house at 192 Weaver Street in the City of Rochester. The defendant and others sold quantities of fentanyl and cocaine from the house between Jan. 2018 and Feb. 25, 2020. The defendant admitted to trafficking between 160 and 280 grams of fentanyl during the conspiracy.

On Feb. 25, 2020, DEA Special Agents and other law enforcement personnel executed a search warrant at the defendant’s residence at 19 Dale Street, Rochester, New York. At the time, the defendant was present inside the residence. During the search, the investigative team recovered, among other things, a clear plastic bag containing 10.064 grams of fentanyl in the basement ceiling at the bottom of a vent pipe after the defendant threw the bag down the vent.

As part of his guilty plea, the defendant admitted to selling a quantity of fentanyl to a 27-year-old female who later suffered a non-fatal overdose.

Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 6, 2021, at 3:00 p.m., before Chief Judge Wolford.

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